Justin Bieber Is Beaten to a Pulp on Complex Cover

Beliebers of the female sort, prepare to cringe, as Justin Bieber is beaten to a pulp on the cover of the 10th anniversary issue of Complex, which is also the mag’s April/May 2012 issue. We also get to watch The Biebs box in the accompanying behind-the-scenes video. Granted, it’s all CGI blood and gore, but it’s graphic. Bieber’s face has obviously remained in tact, but whoa if these shots aren’t jarring.

There are two different covers, which should excite the discerning collector of Biebs-related memorabilia. On one cover, the singer is punchdrunk, on his back and woozy. He’s wearing a blood-stained, tattered white shirt and a black bow tie and trousers while his hands are taped like a fighters. On the other, he is wearing a tux jacket and holding a slab raw meat against his wounds, presumably to take down the swelling. What is it with pop stars and raw meat, man! He’s goin’ Gaga there.

The inside images feature the Biebs taking a right hook to the face and spewing blood, among other things.

For an entertainer with a fan base hovering at 15 and under, it’s scary stuff to see their boy wonder being beaten within inches of his life. He’s battered, bruised and bloodied. But relax, it’s a metaphor for his career. Throw whatever you wish at The Biebs. He’ll take it and come back for more. He’s also growing up and isn’t a little boy anymore.

The feature follows Bieber at Cannes, missing the red carpet and wearing $1k Balenciaga kicks. We learn he impersonates Drake, draws cartoons and is a generally mischeivous boy.

He speaks of longtime girlfriend Selena Gomez. He won’t go as far as to say he’s in love with her, although we’d venture to guess that he is, since they always look so happy and googly-eyed in any of the bazillion pics of them that are snapped by the paps! But he does seem to care for her deeply.

“There’s no way to hide the relationship completely, because then it would be unfair to us,” he said. “It’s like, ‘You take this car, and I’ll take this car, and then we’ll meet up at the spot. Then, you go in this door, I’ll go in this door. We’ll end up crossing ways. You get back in this car. We’ll cross over, do a James Bond. You go through the kitchen. I’ll go through the back area. Then we’ll meet in the dressing room and see each other.’ At that point, it’s not even a relationship. You’re just hiding from everyone. That’s unfair and unhealthy, man.”

The Biebs’ manager Scooter Braun talks about collaborating with Drake on this record and about his unwavering commitment to the teen, now 18 and a little more headstrong. “We made a commitment to each other when he was 13 to be there for each other no matter what,” Braun revealed. “I want him to start being on my level and one of my boys. I want to start treating him like a man. He’s pushing back a little bit more, but I think that’s natural.”

As for those rumors about Biebs huffing helium to achieve those high notes and how his voice is changing with age? He said, “Every guy has feminine qualities. You’re raised by your mother and father, and I was raised mostly by my mother.” Zing.

The Complex feature also demonstrates a competitive and confident Biebs, something he gets from his dad Jeremy, a former MMA fighter. Put simply, he wants to win. “There’s no point in doing this if I’m not going to be the best,” Bieber says. “I give up a personal life. I give up my friends and family to pursue what I love and to make my fans happy. Why would I give up so much to be just another singer?”

The Biebs doesn’t plan on conquering the teen pop world and then becoming a has-been, either. He said, “When I release something I want it to be the best. When I release my fragrance, I want it to be the number-one fragrance; I don’t want it to be the ninth-best-selling fragrance. My Christmas album went double-platinum worldwide. Christmas albums don’t do that, and that still wasn’t good enough for me.”

He ended on a poignant note, saying, “People just need to take a chance and listen. That’s going to be the biggest problem, to make them feel like it’s cool to like my music.”

JB may very well pick up several new fans, many of them male, once this cover lands. Justin Bieber is a lot cooler than most of his detractors think. We’re convinced.